Laying Blame
by stevieLUVSAlex
Summary: Brennan's face is cut up and bruised... Booth is scared to go near her... what happened?  GO AHEAD... you'll love it...
1. Bloody and bruised

_A/N: I came up with this idea one night, while lying sick in bed. I am never one who can be bored, but I was so sick that all I did was lay there for 3 days and stare at the ceiling, when I wasn't sleeping. Then one night… this idea came and I knew you guys would love it… so despite my sickness and vomiting I made the effort to create this FF for you._

_Enjoy!_

As she ran a finger across the open wound of her cheek, she winced. In the mirror, the reflection that Temperance Brennan saw looking back at her was more than horrifying. But she knew more than anyone, as a forensic anthropologist, that when it came to human body tissue, looks could be deceiving. Her cheek bones were bruised, blemishes of deep purple surrounded the tissue, blood still oozed slightly from the large gash on her cheek that ran from her jawline to the top of her cheek bone. It almost looked painted on.

As she reached for the Aloe Vera, with caution, she dabbed the affected area with a cotton ball. It had been an old remedy that Egyptians had had carved on stone. Brennan then applied some antiseptic to the open wound, but not without flinching, before she dared to apply enough make-up to cover her damaged appearance.

She was due back at the Jeffersonian in 30 minutes.

Traffic was heavy, as she drove towards the Lab, eager to put her mind back into her work. She seemed to be caught at every red light, which only amused her. Why was it that when one was running late, all odds were against them and traffic was endless, but when time was unlimited, traffic was a breeze. Another one of the many ironies of the world, she imagined.

In the lab, she was instantly approached by Cam, whose mouth gapped open in horror at the sight of her co-worker. "What- how… er, are you alright Dr. Brennan?" she mumbled.

"Yes, Dr. Saroyan, I'm fine. I'd like to get to work if that's alright…" Brennan said moving towards her office.

"Of- of course," she responded. "Yeah, work… work is good."

Brennan didn't respond, and wondered into her office to pull up a file on the computer. She thought nothing of the way others might perceive her appearance, and dismissed Cam's shock as nothing more than surprise.

Sweets poked his head around the corner, and his eyes widened in surprise. Cam had told him that Brennan had walked in with her face cut up, and he had to see for himself. "Hi, Dr. Brennan."

"Hello, Sweets," she responded barely looking up from the computer desk.

"What er… what happened to you?" he asked.

She looked up to meet his eyes. "I'm working sweets. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Er, no, not really… I just-"

"Good. Then excuse me," she said bluntly returning her attention to the subject at hand.

Brennan was able to work silently for half an hour, before she was interrupted again. This time it was Angela who barged into her office, hands on her hips and a look of concern on her face. Once she saw Brennan the expression changed to panic and her hand cupped her mouth as she gasped in horror.

"Oh my God, Sweetie what happened to you?" she demanded.

"It's a flesh wound, it's nothing," she said shrugging it off.

"Bren," Angela pressed. "Your face is mangled, and Cam and Sweets said you-"

"I'm fine, Angela."

"How can you say that?" she insisted. "Have you seen your face?"

"Yes, I have… and it's not as bad as it looks."

"What happened?"

"I nearly killed her, is what happened!" a voice stated from the doorway.

Angela turned to see Booth leaning against the door frame, his shoulders slumped and a look of utter desolation across his face.

_Are you intrigued? _

_Do you want another chapter… what DID happen to Brennan's face?_


	2. The scene of the crime

_A/N: As I sit here and think about writing this chapter, I am flabbergasted by the response to the first chapter. I am HONORED to have such a great bunch of readers who follow my work. Now, it could very well be my emotions are out of control because I'm sick (and thank you to everyone who wished me well) but I was honestly touched by your enthusiasm… just… THANK YOU!_

_Oh, and in case anyone was worried. NO Hannah! This is a Hannah free FF! So enjoy… _

On the way back from interviewing a suspect, Brennan looked over at Booth from her position in the passenger's seat. There was something about this man that she was drawn to, and in all the years of their partnership she had never been able to work it out. Back at the house with the suspect minutes before, a look had passed between them when the wife of the suspect had mentioned some people didn't know love when it was staring them right in the face.

Brennan had felt personally attacked by the comment when Booth looked over at her.

Now, as she sat looking at him, she wondered… irrationally, of course, if the woman was right.

"What is it, Bones?" he asked gently, his eyes unmoving from the road.

"I was thinking about Love, Booth, it's just a gathering of emotions that one thinks-" she stopped talking, suddenly no longer believing her own words. Maybe it was just a gathering of emotions, but was that really the point? She couldn't be sure anymore.

"Listen, Bones," he turned to glance at her for a fraction of a second before turning his eyes back to the road. "Love is… special, it's unique, it can be incredible, but truth be told, it can also hurt like hell, which is what you remember."

"I don't know what that means," she frowned resorting back to an old habit of speech.

Booth sighed heavily. "When your parents left you, they also left a gabbing hole and a loss of faith in people to stick around. It hurt."

"I hate psychology. It's a soft science."

"I know Bones, but-"

"Do you think I could learn to love the way that you do, even if my scientific evidence tells me otherwise?" she asked him.

There was a kind of hope in her voice that made him turn his eyes to her, a smile soft across his lips, a sparkle of optimism in his own eyes as he looked at her. He had been telling her for years that she had the means to believe in something else for herself. As he stared at her intently, their eyes locking, a new emotion entered the equation.

And just as quickly it was gone, as the impact of a sudden stop, jolted both of them from their trance, the sound of metal scraping against metal, the deafening, piercing sound as the two cars collided, throwing them forcefully in their seat. The driver's side airbag exploded, cushioning the blow for Booth. Brennan felt her head hit the dashboard with a powerful thump, as the car rolled over with the force of being struck by another, before finally landing flat down on the passenger side door, pinning Brennan to the ground, her shoulder wedged against the window. It didn't take long for her to lose consciousness.

Dazed, Booth mentally checked himself for injuries. As far as he could tell he wasn't hurt, only shaken. He turned to check his partner and concern set in when he saw that her eyes were closed, and her face was horrifyingly bloody. His chest tightened in fear.

"Bones," he coughed gasping for air as the pressure of his seatbelt cut off a portion of his oxygen.

She didn't respond.

"Bones," his voice rose, as the panic set in when she didn't answer right away. "Bones!" he demanded.

Still, she didn't respond.

Struggling with every ounce of strength he had, he managed to break free of his seatbelt, and wedged himself towards her. He gently touched her shoulder, and whispered her name. "Bones… God, Bones… come on baby, wake up for me. Open your eyes. Can you hear me, Bones?"

A weak moan escaped her.

He sighed with relief. "Bones… thank God, can you open your eyes?" he encouraged.

Brennan fluttered them for a moment before she opened them.

"Hi," he smiled.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I… I don't know, I think," he looked out the window and saw a semi-truck pulled awkwardly to the side of the road. "I think we hit a truck…" he said. "Can you move?"

"I don't- I don't know…" she muttered. She struggled but her belt kept her trapped.

"Hold on," he said gently reaching over and unclipping it. She fell only an inch towards the door, and winced.

"I got it," she insisted as she inched herself across towards his seat. Booth started to move out of the open window, when he couldn't manage to pry the door open. Brennan followed his lead, and when both of them were out, Booth pulled her tightly into his arms, trembling from the shock of nearly killing her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "God, I'm so sorry…"

"It was an accident," she insisted.

"The airbag… I meant to… Parker was playing with it, he… I never got in replaced!" he was livid.

"Booth, we should," she gestured to the truck driver. "Check to see if the…"

"Yeah," he nodded. He reluctantly released her and the two of them made their way over to the over driver, who was shaking his head and looking dazed, unmoving from the driver's seat. "Sir, are you alright?" Booth inquired.

"I didn't see you," he confirmed. "I didn't see the car coming… I-"

The guilt hit Booth hard. He hadn't been watching the road he had been watching Brennan, if he had been paying attention, if the truck driver had…

"Look, I wasn't exactly using my driving experience there either so… Listen, are you hurt?"

"No," he assured them.

"Good," Booth nodded. "I'm gonna get my friend to the hospital, but we need to swap details and-"

"I don't need a doctor, Booth. I'm fine."

"You could be concussed, Bones, don't fight me."

"I'll go home and fix myself up, and…"

"No. You will wait for me to take this man's details and I will take you to the hospital." He stated firmly. Booth turned his attention to the truck driver and the two men swapped information. By then people surrounded the accident, someone had called 911, and people were asking questions, neither men gave them answers.

When Booth was done he turned to find Brennan was gone.

_So there you have it! Can you understand Booth's guilt? I have a little "ouch" for you in the next chapter. =) If you're interested… and of course sooner or later they will have to recognise that something NEW was happening between them. ;)_


	3. I dont know what that means

_A/N: WOW… the response from this… woo-hoo… don't know whether my writing is getting better, or my readers are just getting more loyal as time goes by, I will have to assume the later. Lol. Thanks for the support guys… enjoy the next chapter. =)_

Booth was shaking from both fear and anger when he waltzed into Brennan's office in the Jeffersonian. Not sure what state he might find her in, his mind conjured up images of the worst possible scenarios imaginable, both logic and illogic.

"Why did you walk away?" Booth demanded relieved to find her seated at her desk, typing at her computer. "I was going to take you to the hospital."

"I told you, Booth, I didn't need to see a medical examiner," she barely looked up. "I could handle things on my own."

He groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. "You're a stubborn woman, Bones."

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"Well you might NOT have been fine, you might very well have been concussed and fainted or lost your way and confided in a total nut-job… do you understand how much danger you just put yourself in, Bones?"

"Booth, you don't have to yell," she said calmly.

"I WILL IF I DAMN WELL WANT TO!" he screamed.

"I don't need you to tell me what to do, Booth. I'm perfectly capable of-"

Booth felt a crushing to his chest, and a surge of anger as he responded instantaneously, out of a bruised ego more than anything else. "Yeah, fine." He shrugged. "If you don't listen to me, and I can't help you, maybe it's time we moved on."

"I don't know what that means…" she frowned.

"You wouldn't," he muttered bitterly.

He turned to leave.

"Booth, where are you going?" she called.

"To get away from you!"

He didn't fail to slam the office door on the way out.

_I know it's REALLY short, but it just means it's all I had for this chapter, and the next one will be uploaded faster. =) reviews are nice thank you's ;)_


	4. I'm sorry

_A/N: sorry most of this chapter is dialogue. Hope that doesn't annoy anyone =) Thank you all for the amazing support and encouragement on this story… you've been great!_

"What was that about?" Angela asked poking her head in the office. She was eating an apple.

"Booth is having a melt-down," she responded vaguely. "I think he has concussion."

Angela frowned. "Why would he have concussion?"

"Because we were involved in a car accident a little while ago," she answered as if it were common knowledge and not a bombshell she was dropping on a pregnant woman.

Angela spat out the piece of apple she'd been chewing, and started coughing.

"Are you alright?" Brennan asked looking up with concern.

She started breathing again. "YOU and BOOTH had a car accident?" she demanded. "TODAY?"

"Yes, Angela. During lunch break. It was a collision with a semi-truck."

"Oh my God…" her hand covered her mouth. "Is Booth okay… are YOU okay? Was anyone hurt, Brennan? Oh God… of course you're not okay, look at you…"

"I'm fine, Angela. Really. Stop making such a fuss about it."

"I will if I want to," she answered sounding like Booth. Angela shook her head as she tried to piece the puzzle together. "Why did Booth get angry?"

"Because I refused to go to the hospital," she stated matter-of-factly.

"WHY?"

"Because I don't need a medical examiner," she denied.

Angela came around to the desk where she sat and pulled her to her feet, her hands gripping her shoulders.

"ANGELA!" she snapped trying to resist. "What are you doing?"

"Don't fight me, if you hurt my baby, I will KILL you," she warned. "You are coming with me to see a doctor… no arguments."

"I will do NO such thing," Brennan barked. "You are as bad as Booth."

"And why do you think he does this?" Angela challenged, releasing her friend to lay her hands on her hips. "Why do you think he panics so much when you get hurt… or why he makes sure you get home at a decent hour… or why-"

"Alright," she insisted. "I get it. He cares about me."

"He doesn't JUST care, Brennan. He LOVES you."

Brennan seemed to look away then, as if the fact was too much for her to consider.

"Are you going to acknowledge this now?" she baited.

Brennan turned her eyes to the floor. NO. She wasn't going to think about the possibility of being with Booth, not now, not when it could mean the very end of everything she believed in. Love was a chemical… she couldn't change, she was a scientist.

"Bren…" Angela pushed.

"Fine," she snapped. "I'll go to hospital. But he will insist all I do is rest. I'm fine."

Angela sighed. That wasn't the reply she was hoping for, but it was better than nothing. "Come on, I'll take you."

"Don't you trust me?" Brennan shot back.

"Not right now, nope…" she shrugged.

The two women walked out of the office together.

… … … … ... … … … … … … … … … … …

When the call came through that Special Agent Seeley Booth would no longer be working with the team at the Jeffersonian institute, Brennan was livid. Anger enflamed each vein in her body, as she stormed down to the Federal Bureau herself, to sort it out.

She stalked into his office, and slammed her fist onto his desk, causing him to jump in surprise.

He looked up to meet her eyes, and she saw the pain evidently across his face. He was upset.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, terminating our partnership?" she demanded.

"I wasn't doing my job… I didn't look after you. I'm not worthy enough to be your partner Bones, it's THAT simple," he lowered his eyes to the paperwork on his desk.

"Let me be the judge of that," she snapped.

"It's not your decision to make, it's MINE!"

"Booth, you are being irrational, it was an accident."

"Yeah sure," he rolled his eyes as he stood from the desk and came around to meet her. "The bruises on your face are just for decoration."

"Booth," she sighed feeling frustrated, but the anger suddenly evaporating. "It's impractical to think you need to terminate our partnership for something as simple as a car accident. Car accidents are a high statistic, they occur many times a day."

"NOT with me driving and YOU in the car, they don't," he denied. "Unless, I'm not doing my job, I wasn't paying attention, Bones, I was looking at you…" he confessed.

Brennan couldn't help but smile, as she remembered it. He had been looking at her. In that same way that he looked at her many times, like was the most amazing creature in the world. It made her feel special, that look he gave her, the way his eyes lingered on hers, the desire in his eyes. He still wanted her, after all these years of partnership, after everything he had learnt about her, when he looked at her it was evidently clear that he wanted her. "I know," she whispered.

"It's NOT good, Bones. Don't smile."

"I'm not angry at you," she insisted.

"You should be. I could've killed you!" he groaned. He reached out his hand and gently touched her bruised face with his index finger, gliding it across her cheek ever so softly, careful not to hurt her.

"I'm fine," she whispered, a sudden catch in her throat.

He tucked her hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry I wasn't watching the road… I'm sorry I put your life in danger, for a second long enough to hurt you… I'm sorry that I ever thought it was okay to think about anything BUT your safety when travelling in the car with you."

"You're laying blame where none is needed, Booth. It was a simple accident," she told him.

Booth shook his head. "I won't do it again… I'll never do it again."

"I know that," she nodded believing it with all her heart.

"I can't be your partner anymore!" he stated.

"Booth," she stepped back feeling a sense of fear crush her chest like a ten-tone truck. "You don't have to do this…"

"Yes, I do. I won't ever let anything bad happen to you."

An irrational part of her brain suddenly over-took her, and she reached her hand out and placed it across his cheek. "If you terminate our partnership, you will be doing JUST that."

"How?" he challenged.

"I need you to trust me, Booth. This time I need you to have faith that I know what's better for me than you do," she confessed.

He hesitated. "Alright," he agreed. "I trust you."

"Good," she smiled.

He folded her into his arms then and held her, grateful that nothing other than the bruises on her face had occurred. Silently praying to God for saving her, for saving him… without her, he didn't know there was a possibility of life anymore, at least not the same way.

_I love you, Bones_, he whispered silently to himself, knowing that was something she just wasn't ready to hear yet.

_I was thinking of leaving it here… I don't know what you all think? Drop me a line… leave a review… I'd love to know your thoughts on that… =) thanks for reading. _


	5. This is a kiss

_A/N: I think it's hard to write the MOMENT they get together… because Brennan's character is SO damn complicated. Is it just me? Or does everyone find that a challenge when writing an FF. ? Anyways, I gave it a shot, because many people wanted more of this… so this is the last one… I hope you like it. =)_

_**SIX MONTHS LATER…**_

"I've been thinking a lot about our relationship lately, Booth?" Brennan announced as they sat in the royal diner sipping on coffee during lunch break.

Booth's ears pricked up, instantly on alert.

"Okay…" he said drawing out the word in anticipation.

Ever since the car accident the two of them had been involved in less than six months ago, Brennan's mind had been active with new thoughts and possibilities regarding the subject of love. She had been thinking about chemicals and emotions and feelings. Every time that Brennan was around Booth, she had the classic symptoms of the love emotion. Her stomach was tight and knotted, as if butterflies were swarming her stomach. Her heart rate increased every time he said her name. She almost stopped breathing when he looked deep into her eyes.

"I know that I refuse to change, and that I told you I am a scientist and that my views regarding our personalities would clash over differences such as religion… but sometimes I find that when I'm alone, it seems like such an irrelevant issue."

"It is," he shrugged casually. He could see where she was going with this conversation, and he could predict that with enough time she would revert back to her old habits and tell him that scientists CANT change. But he listened to her as she rambled on about the subject of love.

"Do you think a relationship could work, if one has completely different beliefs?" she challenged. "I mean, how… how would that work?"

"You stay away from the sore subject," he answered easily. Booth had thought about it MANY times before, how it would work if Brennan would give him a chance.

"What if it couldn't be ignored?" she baited.

"Then you make the most of the situation," Booth put down his coffee mug and stopped to look at her. "Listen, Bones, life isn't easy for anyone, and every couple whether they have the same beliefs or not have something else to argue about. No relationship is without problems," he pointed out.

"But you can limit them, why put yourself in a relationship where you know it's going to create problems…" she insisted.

"It all depends then," he shrugged.

"On what?"

"How much the person matters… how much you love them… if you're willing to fight for them…"

"I am," she whispered.

Booth's heart quickened. "You… what"

"I had a lot of time to think when I was in the Maluku Islands a while ago, and ever since then I find it difficult to reason with myself on the subject. I know that we have our differences, and I'm a scientist. I won't ever believe in God, Booth, you have to know that."

He nodded sadly. "I know…"

"But maybe we could…"

Booth's eyes widened and his heart quickened more so. "Bones, are you sure?"

She shrugged nervously as she poured out her emotions. "I know I've changed a lot over the past few years, you've changed me Booth… I have come to trust you, and depend on you, and I know that when I was a child I felt the burden of abandonment." She looked at him, carefully trying to remember a single time that he had ever failed her.

"What?" he asked.

"You never let down, Booth," she confessed.

"I try not to," he said with a small smile.

"You've always been there for me."

"You've been there for me, too."

"I don't know how you feel about me now, whether you moved on like you said or…"

He chuckled. "I can't."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means I can't ever get over you. I tried. I failed. I tried again… nothing," he grinned. "You belong with me Bones. We belong together. The world has been screaming that out for years, I know this because I've been screaming it too."

Brennan blushed.

"You really love me, Booth?"

"More than you'll ever know," he confirmed.

She nodded. "I love you as well…" she said.

His face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. "Good."

"Booth?"

"What, Bones?"

She laughed and leaned over the stool to kiss his cheek.

"Nuh, nuh," he scolded. He wrapped his arms around her waist and slid her across to him. "That's not a kiss, this is a kiss…" he whispered before meeting his lips with hers.

_The bit about them belonging together, I just saw an E/D interview and Emily was saying something about how she thought they belonged together, and so I interpreted that. Hope it wasn't TOO OOC. Hope you liked it guys… =) thanks for reading, alerting and reviewing. You've all been incredible._


End file.
